Lottery games have become extremely popular in recent years. Numerous states now have lottery games of one type or another and literally millions of lottery tickets are sold to the general public every year.
Typically a lottery ticket comprises a card on which there are printed numbers, letters, symbols, or some combination of characters which determine whether the purchaser of a particular card or ticket is entitled to a prize. The printed characters on the card are covered or hidden by an opaque coating or layer which is removable from the surface of the card or ticket by scraping or rubbing to reveal or expose the printed characters.
The coating on the card or ticket may be composed of various materials so long as the coating is visually opaque and relatively easy to remove with scraping or abrasion. Typically, a common type of coating used on such tickets comprises a blend of graphite particles and a wax (e.g., paraffin).
Similar types of tickets are also used, for example, by some grocery stores, drug stores, variety stores, etc. for their own types of games. For example, they may be used in games for giving away merchandise or other prizes.
Tickets of the type described herein are sold in various business establishments, typically at the check-out register, counter, bar, etc. Often times the purchaser or recipient of a ticket immediately scrapes or rubs the coating off the ticket while standing at the check-out register or counter. Naturally this takes time and causes delays in the check-out line.
The purchasers of the tickets normally use the edge of a coin to remove the coating to reveal the printed characters on the ticket. The coating shavings or fragments which result from scraping of a ticket are unsightly and can soil hands and clothing. Thus, it is undesirable for the shavings or fragments to be left on counters, tables, bar tops, etc.
There has not heretofore been provided a convenient, clean, and effective means for removing the coating from lottery or game tickets.